Vision 100

Two days after Harlem and Byron voters soundly rejected referendums on the ballot, the Belvidere School District is gathering public input on the future with Vision 100.

Belvidere High School enrolls 2,300 students. Well over its capacity of 1,800 and with the district growing by 600 students this year, the community is brainstorming ways to make the hallways less congested.

Wednesday night, Belvidere parents discussed two options for a new high school.

The first option is to build a 3,800 student school, with an expected cost of $95 million. This plan would move middle school students into the existing high school.

The second option is to build a smaller, 2,000 student high school, with a cost of $70 million. However, unlike the first option, the plan doesn't address how to handle growth for middle and elementary students.

Organizers say opinion is mixed between the two options.

"From a curriculum and an academic standpoint people really like the smaller high school arrangement. But when they weigh these things out they may gravitate back to a closer view between the two," Vision 100 Co-Chair Kim Larson said.

Vision 100 meetings will last until the middle of December, when leaders will give their final report.

This April, the Belvidere School District is expected to place another referendum on the ballot.

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